NaLu Angst Week 2018
by a-fairy-tail44
Summary: Compilation of one-shots I did for NaLu Angst Week 2018
1. Day 1: Shadows

**This little piece is for NaLu angst week 2018, I'll post any/all fics I do this week on Tumblr (if they aren't too long), , and then on AO3 later on. So enjoy Day 1: _Shadows_**

* * *

Lucy knew she shouldn't have walked home alone.

But she'd been exhausted and Natsu had been in the middle of an intense brawl with Gray that Lucy had no desire to get in the middle of.

The fatigue had messed with her mind enough that she had even forgotten about the warning's everyone had been telling her about. The warnings to not go anywhere alone at night.

Because he hid in the shadows.

Recently, a dark mage had been sensed lurking in Fiore. No one knew where he was or what he wanted, but mages had been told to be careful.

Apparently, he was powerful.

From what Lucy had gathered, the dark mage had powers similar to Rogue's. He was able to merge with the shadows, traveling around in them.

She had been warned not to be out at night alone.

And yet, here she was. Alone, surrounded by shadows cast by street lamps and moonlight.

She had originally just been nervous, worry tugging at her stomach, wind seemingly whispering soft warnings to turn back, but then she heard a noise.

She'd heard someone breathing.

Now, Lucy was scared.

She froze in the street, looking around for the noise.

Then she heard it again, someone breathing. Their breaths were slow, cautious almost. Lucy looked around slowly, trying to locate the sound.

Her eyes landed on an alleyway to her left.

An alleyway covered in shadows.

He was in there, she knew it. Lucy could sense a dark magic, seemingly pulling her towards the shadows, beckoning her to her doom. It almost seemed to be trying to rip her magic from her body.

Fear bloomed in her chest. This was unlike any other dark magic she had ever felt.

It reminded her of Zeref.

Lucy thought about where she was. She was about a ten minute walk away from Fairy Tail. If she ran, could she make it back in time? Would he catch her first?

She decided she didn't really have a choice.

Lucy turned around, and broke out into a sprint back to Fairy Tail.

"Loke!" She called, not having time to grab her key. Sure enough, the flirty spirit appeared beside her, a serious look in his eyes.

"Keep running, don't look back." Leo ordered. His hands shone with the golden light of regulus.

"Regulus Impact!" He yelled, launching his attack at something behind Lucy.

A shiver shot down Lucy spine, as the sounds of Loke's fight confirmed her fears.

The shadow mage was following her.

She forced herself to move even faster, to the point where her lungs burned. Finally, she turned a corner, and the guild was in sight.

"Natsu!" She screamed as loud as her strained lungs allowed. "Natsu help!"

Natsu's fist stopped just before it made contact with Gray's jaw. His head snapped to the doors of the guild.

Gajeel and Wendy had similar looks of worry and confusion on their face.

"What is it? Did you hear something?" Gray asked, his playful anger from before gone in flash.

"Lucy..." Natsu growled. Then he heard her scream again.

He threw himself off the ice mage and bolted for the front doors, the other two dragon slayers close behind.

He burst through the doors, his eyes landing on Lucy.

She was sprinting down the road, her eyes full of fear.

"Natsu!" She called.

"Lucy!" Natsu ran to her.

The blonde crashed into Natsu, frantically gasping for air. He quickly wrapped his arms around the trembling girl.

Lucy felt goosebumps rise on her arms, both from fear and the chill of the wind. The adrenaline faded and dizziness took its place. She would have collapsed had it not been for Natsu's arms holding her up.

"Luce, whats wrong? Are you hurt?" He asked quietly. He tried to push her away so he could check her over for injuries, but she clung tight to his shirt.

"What's up with bunny girl?" Gajeel asked, as he and Wendy approached.

"I don't know-"

"The light." Lucy said between gasps for air. "We have...to get... in the light."

Wendy's eyes went wide as she immediately realized what Lucy was talking about.

"The dark mage that hides in the shadows." Wendy gasped.

"Dark mage?" Gajeel asked.

"We need to get inside, _now_." Wendy said quickly. Turning and beginning to run back.

Natsu glanced down at Lucy again. His brows furrowed in concern.

"Did something attack ya Luce?" He asked worriedly.

"We have to get to the light!" She yelled, ignoring his question. She hit his chest, frustrated that no one was listening to her.

"Gajeel, Natsu, hurry!" Wendy cried.

"Go!" Lucy ordered. Her movements became frantic. She pushed herself out of Natsu's arms, trying to follow Wendy to safety. But a wave of nausea washed over her. Lucy tripped, Natsu quickly catching her.

"Okay, okay we hear ya Luce. We're going, take it easy." He shifted her so that he could pick her up in his arms. Natsu grew nervous when he realized Lucy's magic levels felt lower than normal. Had she been fighting something? Natsu tightened his grip on the blonde and began to jog back to the guild, Gajeel following close behind.

Lucy groaned as her head began to pound. Something was wrong, a short sprint and opening Loke's gate shouldn't have drained her this much.

Gray, Juvia, Erza and Levy appeared in the doorway of the guildhall, concern on their faces.

"What happened?" The ice mage asked as Natsu met up with them.

"Is Lucy hurt?" Erza asked with concern.

Wendy tugged on Erza's arm, trying to push past the group of people and get inside.

"We need to go inside, where there's light. I think Lucy was attacked by that dark mage we've been sensing."

"The one who uses shadows to fight with and hide in?" Levy asked.

Wendy nodded. "He's powerful, apparently, Lucy's lucky she wasn't hurt."

Natsu let out a quiet growl, he shouldn't have let her walk home alone.

Juvia moved closer to Gray, clutching his arm. "Juvia does not like this. She senses something dark in the air."

Gray put a hand on top of Juvia's. "Yeah, I have a bad feeling about this."

"Let's get inside, that mage can't attack us where there's light right?" Gajeel gave Levy a little push on the back, making sure she was in the light.

"I'll inform the Master of the Dark Mages appearance. Wendy, you take a look at Lucy, see if you can get her to talk about what happened."

Wendy nodded, but before she could do anything, Lucy gasped.

The blonde rolled out of Natsu grip, landing on her hands and knees on the floor.

"Lucy! What's wrong?" Natsu dropped to his knees next to her, placing a hand on her back.

"Loke's gate was forced closed." She whispered, face riddled with confusion and worry.

"Was he out fighting the dark mage?" Levy asked.

Lucy nodded, panic in her eyes. "He's coming."

Immediately, all the mages heard a crash, and felt the ground seemingly begin to shake underneath them.

Natsu quickly jumped to his feet, positioning himself in front of Lucy, and preparing for a fight.

"Natsu, you don't understand. He isn't like any other dark mage." Lucy grabbed

Natsu's hand from her spot on the ground, needing him to listen to her. "I felt it when I was fighting him, his shadows, they feel like they were made by Zeref himself."

"In case you've forgotten Luce," Natsu looked down on her with his usual cocky grin, "we beat Zeref."

"Natsu..."

"And we'll beat this guy too!"

As the dragon slayer said that, what looked like a wave of shadow came around the corner, making a beeline for Fairy Tail.

"Stand your ground!" Erza ordered. "We are in the light, he cannot hurt us!"

Sure enough, the wave sped up, and came to an abrupt stop when met with the light that spilled out of the doorway of the guild.

The shadows hissed, then began to shrink, slowly, until they took on a human form.

A man seemingly made of darkness stood in front of Fairy Tail, a twisted smile on his lips.

"Hello Fairies." He said in voice far too calm. "My name is Zenix, and I will start by saying i'm not here to hurt you. Simply hand over the Celestial Mage and I'll be on my way, there is no need for fighting."

Natsu roared. "As if we would just give her to you!"

"Well that's a shame, as I have no intent of leaving until I get what I want."

With that, Natsu launched himself at the man. He heard the familiar sounds of his partners fighting alongside him. Some aimed for the shadows at his feet, others attacked him directly.

"Why do you want Lucy?" Natsu growled at the man, while blocking his punches.

"Well its simple, really." Zenix explained. "Celestial magic is a light type, and light can eliminate shadows. However, it also creates them. Having the celestial mage around is rather inconvenient for me, unless I can be sure she's on my side. If I could have her at my side creating endless shadows for me, I'd be unstoppable!"

"Lucy would never fight to _protect_ someone like you!" Natsu roared.

Zenix laughed, "I never said she would do it _willingly._ "

Natsu's eyes widened as he realized what Zenix was implying.

"Oh Natsu Dragneel, didn't anyone ever teach you to not leave what you're trying to protect, unprotected?"

Natsu froze. Idiot! He'd left Lucy alone, forgetting her magic was drained and she couldn't fight. As if on cue, he heard her voice, a fearful whisper.

"Natsu?"

He ran back to Lucy, where she had risen to her feet in the doorway of the guildhall.

She was staring at her hands, horror in her eyes.

"Natsu, something's wrong." Lucy said, her voice trembling.

"Luce, what's-" Natsu choked as he saw her hands up close.

The veins in the palm of her hand had turned black, and it was spreading.

"What did you do?!" He roared up at Zenix, who merely laughed while successfully dodging the attacks of other guild mates.

"As I said, light magic can eradicate shadows, but it also creates them. Her celestial

magic makes it easy for her to be corrupted by my shadows. Of course there is the added bonus that I drained her magic with the shadows upon seeing her. So she is helpless to fight back."

Lucy yelped as she felt a tug on her hands. She stumbled forwards a few steps.

"Natsu! It's pulling me in! The shadows are trying to absorb me!"

Natsu frantically grabbed her hand, trying to pull her back into the light.

"Dammit Luce, why does your type of magic always gotta cause so many problems?" Natsu complained.

"Not the time for jokes, Natsu!" Lucy snapped back.

The black veins had spread up to her arms now, and she had one foot out of the light of the guild hall.

"Natsu...I'm scared." Lucy whispered.

Natsu felt his chest tighten, his protective instincts kicking in. He tightened his grip, trying his best to pull Lucy back into the light.

"I'll get you out of this Luce, I promise."

Lucy watched as the veins continued to spread up towards her chest. She whimpered as her other foot stepped outside, and the shadows began to swirl around her feet.

"Natsu, im sinking."

Natsu's eyes widened.

"Dammit, don't let go Lucy!"

Natsu tried to burn away the shadows at her feet, and it worked! But then they would return a second later.

Lucy felt the familiar feeling of guilt in her chest as she realized she was the useless one once again.

"Luce, this is not your fault." Natsu's voice was firm, he recognized that look in her eyes. She got it every time they were in a situation like this.

Lucy ignored the dragon slayer. Like quicksand, she had sunk into the shadows up to her knees, and she knew she needed a plan, fast.

Around her, all her friends were fighting. She watched Juvia push Gray out of the way of a blast of shadows, only to have Gray use his ice shield to protect them both.

Erza launched sword after sword at Zenix, but his shadows seemed to swallow them whole. Even with Wendy boosting her powers, Erza couldn't land a hit.

Gajeel and Levy found side by side, the blue haired girl writing more iron for Gajeel.

Then, Levy spelled out a simple word.

Light.

Lucy watched as a huge portion of the shadows hissed and recoiled at the word that shone bright in the air. But sure enough, once the word faded, they were back to attacking.

Lucy had sunken to her stomach now, but it didn't matter.

She had an idea.

"Natsu, I have an idea."

"Yeah? What is it?" He asked, never ceasing his attempts to pull and burn Lucy free from her shadow prison.

"Let me go."

Natsu's fire went out immediately. His eyes wide with shock.

"Are you kidding me? No way in hell!" He went back to the process of burning shadows and pulling Lucy.

"Natsu, this isn't going to work!" She yelled.

"Yes it is!" He snapped back.

"You have to let me go!" Lucy begged.

Natsu's gaze was serious.

"I can't." He whispered.

Lucy felt warmth in her chest at the sadness in his voice. She wondered if he knew how much she loved him.

The shadows were up to Lucy's chest now, and the black veins had completely

swallowed her arms.

She gently tugged on Natsu's arm. Getting him to kneel in front of her. Gently, she pressed her forehead to his.

"Natsu," She breathed, looking him in the eyes, "do you trust me?"

"Always."

"Let me go."

"But Lucy...I don't...I can't"

"Trust me Natsu, _please._ "

Natsu's brows were furrowed, Lucy could see the conflict in his eyes.

Of course Natsu trusted Lucy, that didn't mean he wanted to throw her into the shadows like some sort of sacrifice. He took a deep breath, and told Lucy the truth.

"Lucy, I can't lose you."

Lucy brought a hand up to cup Natsu's cheek. She gave him a soft smile. The kind that never failed to twist his heart.

"You won't" Lucy whispered. Carefully, she leaned in, pressing a light kiss on his forehead. Biting back a giggle when she saw the bright blush on his face when she pulled away.

"I promise, I'm not going anywhere."

Natsu nodded, and let go of her hand.

Instantly, Lucy was swallowed by the shadows.

"Lucy!" Natsu called in a panic. Had he made the right choice? She had to be okay, otherwise, he would never forgive himself.

For Lucy, everything was black. She was surrounded by darkness, with no idea which way was up or down.

From every direction, she heard Zenix's evil voice.

"Well well, looks like the little dragon gave up. Or was it you that decided to give in, celestial princess?"

"Fairy Tail never gives up." Lucy yelled into the abyss. "And neither do I!"

She got herself into position, her hands spread wide, palms facing forward.

"You messed with the wrong guild, Zenix." Lucy smiled. "But most of all, you messed with the wrong celestial wizard."

"URANO METRIA!"

Lucy heard Zenix scream as light shot out from every piece of her skin. She felt the shadows wither away, hissing as she destroyed them from the inside out. Even she had to shut her eyes from the brightness of the blast. She scrunched her eyelids shut, and prayed that when she opened them again, all of this would be over.

From the outside, Natsu heard her scream the spell. He stepped back in shock as he watched huge beams of light shoot out from various pieces of the shadow.

The other mages promptly stopped their attacks as they realized Lucy had things under control. They joined Natsu in the doorway of the guild while they waited for the light to die down.

"That's one crazy girl you got yourself there, Salamander." Gajeel teased, patting Natsu on the shoulder.

"I know, she's amazing." Natsu said breathlessly, smiling from ear to ear.

Lucy had come so far. He was overwhelmed with pride.

After a minute, the light dwindled. He scanned the street for Lucy, seeing her curled up on the ground, her eyes squeezed shut.

Next to her, was an unconscious Zenix.

Erza was quick to deal with Zenix, binding him and dragging him into the guild.

Meanwhile, Natsu ran to Lucy, dropping down beside her to check for injuries.

"Lucy! Are you okay?"

"Did I do it?" She asked.

"Yes you weirdo, you did it." Natsu laughed.

Lucy let out a sigh of relief as she allowed herself to open her eyes. Smiling when she met Natsu's eyes.

Now truly drained of magic, Lucy was unable to move.

Carefully, Natsu pulled her head into his lap, brushing her hair out of her face.

"That was reckless of you." He scolded.

" _You_ have no right to scold me for being reckless, Natsu Dragneel." Lucy shot back.

"Yeah, you got me there Luce." He sighed, leaning back on his hands. He continued to

stare at her, wondering how on earthland he had managed to meet someone as amazing as her.

"I told you you could trust me." Lucy said with a smug smile.

"And I told you I did." Natsu paused. "I always have, Lucy. I always will."

They sat there for a moment, in comfortable silence, before Natsu spoke up again.

"Just do me a favour, Luce?"

"Sure."

"Don't walk home alone at night again, okay?"

Lucy giggled. "Why? I thought you trusted me?" Lucy teased.

"I do." Natsu insisted. "But that doesn't mean I wanna leave you by yourself." He

paused again, as if deep in thought.

"You know what Luce, maybe it's best if you just agree to never leave my side." He said with a smirk.

Lucy couldn't help but smile back.

"There is nothing that would make me happier."


	2. Day 2: Betrayal

**Day 2: _Betrayal_**

* * *

 _"_ _Hey, Natsu?"_

 _"_ _Yeah Luce?"_

 _"_ _I just wanted to say thank you, for everything."_

 _"_ _That's random, is something wrong?"_

 _"_ _No, it's just that…"_

 _"_ _Spit it out, ya know you can't lie to me."_

 _"_ _You trust me, right?"_

 _"_ _Of course, you're my partner."_

 _"_ _Good, because there's something I have to do tomorrow."_

 _"_ _Oh? Ya need help with it?"_

 _"_ _No, no, but, i'm just…warning you, because you're going to hate me after I do it. So just know that it needs to be done, and trust me, one last time."_

 _"_ _What do you mean one_ last _time? What are you planning Luce?"_

 _"_ _I'm sorry Natsu, just know that I don't_ want _to do it, but I don't really have a choice anymore."_

 _"_ _Luce, what are you talking about? You're making me nervous. Lucy? Lucy! Come back!"_

* * *

Lucy entered the guild hall, and took a deep breath. Natsu was already here, she'd made sure of it. She'd stopped by his house earlier to be sure, and he hadn't been home.

Everything was going according to plan.

She made her way through Fairy Tail, walking towards Mira, like she did every day.

"Hi Lucy!" Mira greeted happily. But when Lucy got closer, Mira's cheery smile faltered.

"Lucy, is something wrong?" She asked cautiously. Mira even took a step back.

Lucy knew why. She expected a mage as strong as Mira to sense the dark magic Lucy carried in her pocket. Her hand reached into her pocket slowly, as she smiled back at Mira.

"Of course Mira, everything's fine." Lucy said with a grin.

She opened the small bag in her pocket, and threw a handful of sleeping powder into the guild hall air.

Mages dropped like flies. Falling into a deep slumber that was almost impossible to wake from without a _very_ strong healer.

Even Mira was affected by it. She groaned as she slumped against the bar.

"Lucy…why?" She muttered, as her eyelids fluttered shut.

"What the hell is going on, Lucy?" A voice demanded an explanation. She turned to face the only four mages still standing, unaffected by the sleeping spell.

It was Gray who had spoken, his eyes full of anger and confusion, his fists clenched and ready for a fight, but his stance hesitant, clearly not wanting to hurt Lucy.

Next to him, was Erza, a sword already in her hand, she looked about the same as Gray, her eyes full of distrust, but not hate. Not yet. She too, was ready for a fight, but clearly more ready to put down her sword and listen to an explanation.

Next to Erza, was Wendy. The small blue haired mage was a step behind Erza, nervous. Unlike the others, Wendy wasn't even preparing herself for a fight. She didn't look angry or confused or expectant of an explanation. Wendy just looked scared.

Lucy didn't know if she would be able to hurt the little dragon slayer.

And if Lucy couldn't bring herself to hurt Wendy, she had no idea how she was going to deal with Natsu.

He stood next to Wendy, his eye's filled with hurt. Usually, Natsu was the quickest to anger. He was always the first to jump into action and pummel any threat to their guild. But not this time. His arms hung limp at his sides. His fists weren't clenched, his fire nowhere to be found. His eyes looked Lucy up and down, as if trying to find any sign that it wasn't the real her, that she was possessed or being controlled or acting against her will.

There were no signs to be found.

All of this was, of course, also part of the plan. She had needed mages awake to witness her actions. But it couldn't have been just any mages, so Lucy had the potion made specially, so it wouldn't affect those four specifically.

Lucy had needed the mages that trusted her most to watch her betray them all.

"Lucy, explain yourself. Why do I sense dark magic in the air? Do you intend to hurt your own nakama?" Erza interrogated.

Lucy had expected this. She shot Erza a vile, twisted smile, then promptly dropped to her knees.

"Lucy?" Natsu asked, concern in his voice. Lucy ignored the twist in her heart. Even as she was trying to hurt them, Natsu was worried for her. Lucy looked back up and her friends, giving them her best pain-filled look. She'd been practicing her acting for this very moment.

"Please…" Lucy rasped, "help…they're…controlling me…I'm sorry, I don't want…to hurt…" Lucy cut herself off with a scream, then crumpled to the floor.

"Lucy!" Natsu cried, trying to run to her, but Erza put an arm out to stop him.

"I'll handle this Natsu, something isn't right here." Erza muttered.

 _As expected, she's the smart one._ Lucy thought from her place on the floor.

"The hell are you talking about? Clearly Lucy's being used! We have to help her!" Natsu cried angrily.

"Don't lie to yourself, Natsu." Gray deadpanned. "Even I can feel there's something not right about this whole situation."

"I don't want to believe Lucy would hurt us intentionally." Wendy whispered quietly.

Natsu gave Wendy a sad smile. "Obviously, she wouldn't." He ruffled her hair. "Lucy loves us."

 _I do love you, that's why I'm doing this._ Lucy thought, as she felt that twisting pain in her chest again.

"Well, she's unconscious now, so we can take her to the infirmary, and keep an eye on her until she wakes up." Erza decided, carefully picking up Lucy's limp form.

Lucy knew she had to act _now_ , while they were still hesitant to hurt her. So from Erza's arms, she began focusing her magic. Lucy had been forced to learned requip in a very short time. She wasn't very good at it, she was only able to summon small weapons, but that was all she needed.

She had their trust, and that was her most powerful weapon of all.

"Requip" Lucy whispered.

Of course Natsu heard it, his dragon senses had always been a pain to work around. But Lucy knew he wouldn't get to her on time.

Lucy felt the weight of the poison-coated dagger as it appeared in her hand.

"Erza! Look out!" Natsu shouted, but it was too late. Lucy swung the dagger up, stabbing it into Erza's bicep. It wasn't a fatal wound, but that hadn't been the goal. The poison on the blade wasn't fatal either, but it spread fast.

It knocked Erza unconscious in ten seconds flat.

Lucy continued her attack while the others were still in shock.

She jumped to her feet, throwing the dagger with terrifying accuracy. It got Gray right in the thigh. He hissed in pain, glaring at Lucy.

This time, his eyes held the hate Lucy had needed to see.

She ignored how much it hurt to be on the receiving end of those hate filled eyes.

Gray hit the floor, and Lucy moved on.

She heard Wendy roar, and quickly slid to avoid the huge gust of wind coming straight for her. Lucy ran past Gray's unconscious form, mercilessly ripping the dagger from his thigh as she passed. She continued ducking and dodging until Wendy was in reach.

But in the end, Lucy couldn't bring herself to use the knife on the little girl.

She was thirteen, for God's sake.

But Lucy had to do something.

She settled for a well aimed kick to the stomach. Not enough to truly do damage, but enough to send the dragon slayer flying. Wendy collided with a table, and promptly went limp.

Now, Lucy prepared herself for the angry screams. She got ready for burning heat and a barrage of fury-filled flames, but none came.

Confused, she searched the room, shocked when her eye's landed on Natsu standing in the exact same place he had been when all of this started.

She tried to give him a hateful look, but she couldn't keep her act up any longer. Lucy crumpled. The dagger clattered to the ground. Lucy held her head in her hands as the tears finally came.

"I'm sorry!" She sobbed, "I'm so sorry! I never wanted to do any of this!"

Cautiously, Natsu approached.

"Hey, Luce, it's me. Are you back now? Are you Lucy again?" He asked nervously.

Angry at herself, she glared up at Natsu.

"I was never being controlled. I was lying. It was all an act, Natsu." She snapped.

Natsu gave her a sad smile. "I know. That doesn't mean you were normal Lucy, though."

Lucy's eyes widened in shock. "You knew I was faking it the whole time?"

"Well yeah, that's why I didn't attack ya, silly." Natsu sat down next to Lucy.

"How? How did you know?" Lucy asked.

Natsu laughed. "You didn't smell weird. Well, any weirder than normal."

Lucy elbowed him in the side. He shrugged it off and continued explaining.

"If you were possessed or under someone else's control, I would've smelled the different magic on ya." He paused, to glance over at Wendy, who was still unconscious. "Wendy probably knew too."

"I'm sorry Natsu." Lucy whispered.

"It's okay Luce, we can fix it. Just please tell me why you-" Natsu froze in horror as he turned back to look at the blonde, only to find her pressing her dagger to his throat.

"Lucy…" He gasped.

Lucy's eyes we're full of hatred, and it hurt Natsu, who was unsure of what he had done so wrong.

Little did he know, the hatred in Lucy's eyes was directed at herself.

The tears came back as Lucy held the dagger to Natsu's throat, she hated that she had to do this, but it was the only way.

She needed them to hate her.

She needed _him_ to hate her.

"I'm sorry Natsu." She repeated.

"Lucy! Come on!" Natsu let out a nervous laugh. He tried to back away from her, only to have her jump on him, pinning him to the floor. Her hands trembled as she _pressed_ the cold metal to Natsu's hot flesh.

Natsu began to grow nervous, unsure if he could talk his way out of this one. He refused to hurt Lucy, but Lucy certainly didn't seem opposed to hurting him.

It hurt, Natsu realized. It hurt in a way different then when he took a blow during battle. This was his nakama, his partner, his _Lucy_ holding a knife to his throat of her own will. The betrayal stung, it twisted his stomach and his heart around in ways he had never felt before. It left a bad taste in his mouth. He didn't understand, he _needed_ to understand.

"Why, Luce?" He asked, his voice growing louder with every word. "Why are you doing this? There must be a reason! Whatever happened, we can fix it. We'll work it out, _together_. Like we always have!"

"We can't Natsu!" Lucy shouted back, her voice filled with anguish and pain.

How badly Natsu wished he could take all her pain away, erase that hurt from her voice.

"There is something I need to do alone, and I can't have you and the others chasing after me. So I need you to hate me!" Lucy shouted. "I just betrayed you Natsu, I beat up all of our nakama, and I'm holding a poisonous dagger to your throat! I could kill you at any moment, so why are you still looking at me like _that_!" Lucy pushed the knife into his skin a little more, drawing the slightest bit of blood.

Still Natsu continued to look at her in that way that made her stomach flip. Like a hurt puppy, his eyes wide. That look that made her sure he would never lay a hand on her. A look full of love, the opposite of what Lucy wanted.

"You want me to hate you?" Natsu gave a soft laugh, "I could never hate you Luce, we're partners."

"I could kill you right now, I've already drawn blood." Lucy growled.

"You have drawn blood, and I guess you could kill me." Natsu said with a smile.

"Why are you smiling!" Lucy screamed in frustration. "Hate me, dammit!"

"No." Natsu stated simply.

"No?" Lucy yelled back.

"No, I refuse to hate you."

"Why?" Lucy asked, her voice growing softer against her will. She had a dagger to his throat, and still, Natsu was the same old, childish Natsu she'd always known.

"Because I love you, Lucy."

Lucy dropped the knife in shock.

"I love you too, Natsu." She responded, almost instinctively.

Natsu took his chance. He placed his hand on the back of Lucy's head, and pulled her in for a kiss. He shut his eyes tight, revelling in the feeling of Lucy's soft lips against his own, and praying that this snapped her out of whatever mental torment was causing her to believe betrayal was her only option.

But then, with their lips connected, Natsu remembered the conversation he'd had with Lucy the night before.

 _"_ _You trust me, right?"_

 _"_ _Of course, you're my partner."_

 _"_ _Good, because there's something I have to do tomorrow."_

 _"_ _Oh? Ya need help with it?"_

 _"_ _No, no, but, i'm just…warning you, because you're going to hate me after I do it. So just know that it needs to be done, and trust me, one last time."_

She had asked him to trust her. She had sworn that it needed to be done.

And Natsu did trust her. He trusted Lucy with his life.

So when he felt her arm reaching for the dagger, he said nothing, and made no move to stop it.

When their lips finally separated, Lucy was crying again.

"I really am sorry Natsu." She said.

Natsu couldn't help but cry out as pain shot through his shoulder, he turned his head, his face paling as he saw Lucy had _stabbed_ him.

Sure, he had felt her pick up the dagger, but he didn't think she would actually stab him. He had _trusted_ her.

And she had used it against him.

Natsu knew he should hate her for it, but as his gaze traveled from the knife, to her white knuckles that gripped it, up her arm, to land on her face, as he looked into her brown eyes, still the only thing he could feel for the girl was love.

"I still love you, Lucy." He rasped, his vision beginning to blur as the poison set it. Man, that was strong stuff if it was taking him out this fast.

"I love you too Natsu." Lucy smiled sadly, "That's why I have to do this."

Lucy twisted the knife in his shoulder, and Natsu screamed as his vision faded to black.


	3. Day 3: Tears

**Day 3: _Tears_**

 ** _Warning: Slight Blood/Gore_**

* * *

From his spot next to Lucy at the table, Natsu tensed.

It didn't go unnoticed by the blonde, who immediately grew nervous. It was rare that good things came after Natsu sensed something.

"Something wrong, Natsu?" Lucy asked quietly.

"Someone's coming." Natsu responded gruffly. He narrowed his eyes, focusing in on his dragon senses. He sniffed the air quickly. "The hell are _they_ doing here?"

Before Lucy could ask who 'they' were, the guild hall doors burst open. In the doorway stood Rufus Lore and Minerva Orland, from the Sabertooth guild. The two we're flushed, sweating and panting as their eye's scanned the room.

Mira rushed over, gently placing a hand on Minerva's back.

"Are you okay? You two look like you ran here all the way from Sabertooth!" Mira asked with a worried tone.

The mages ignored the question, as Rufus' eyes landed on Natsu and Lucy.

"Lucy," Rufus panted, "we need Lucy."

Immediately, Natsu was on his feet. He stared at Rufus, suspicion in his eyes.

"What do you want her for?" Natsu demanded.

"Natsu…" Lucy whispered nervously, gently grabbing his forearm, "calm down, they may need help." She ignored the way her heart leaped at his usual over-protectiveness, as she stepped out from the table, and approached Minerva and Rufus.

She practically _felt_ Natsu standing behind her, ready to pull her away from any sign of danger.

"What can I help you with?" Lucy asked politely.

Minerva straightened herself out as she finally caught her breath.

"It's Yukino." She explained. "She's dying."

Lucy felt as if the walls were crashing down around her as Minerva's words sunk in. Panic rose in her chest, as various anxious thoughts fought for control.

 _Yukino's dying? She's my friend, she can't die. What will I do without her? She taught me so much about Celestial magic. We've been through so much together. They came all this way to tell me I'll never get to see her again?_

"Luce? Lucy!" Natsu called, his warm hand grabbed her shoulder, effectively snapping her out of her thoughts.

Lucy placed her hand on top of Natsu's, needed his warmth to ground her.

"What happened?" Lucy whispered.

"Attack on our guild, Sting and Rogue were, still are, out on a mission, Yukino pushed herself too far. We don't really have time to explain." Minerva summarized.

"She's suffering from a severe level of magic deficiency, unlike anything we've ever seen." Rufus continued, "We believe you are the only one who can save her."

"I'll do it, what do you need?" Lucy replied instantly.

"Well, this is going to sound strange." Minerva sighed.

"We need your tears." Rufus finished.

"Her _tears?_ " Natsu asked.

Minerva nodded. "We spoke to our healer, he said the only hope for Yukino is some sort of potion he can make, but it require the tears of a celestial spirit mage. And it's not like we can use Yukino's, because she's unconscious."

"Okay, kind of weird, but sure, I guess I can give you some of my tears. I'm not sure I can really cry on demand though." Lucy said.

"It's fine, that's why I'm here." Rufus explained, as he made his way to the bar. He pulled out a chair from the nearest table, and set it in front of the bar, facing the guild hall doors. "I'll need you to sit in this chair, and from there, with your permission of course, I'll use my magic to create vivid images that will make you cry. We will then collect the tears, and bring them back to our healer."

"Okay, I think I understand." Lucy nodded slowly. She took a step towards the chair, only to have Natsu put an arm out to stop her.

 _When did he even get in front of me?_ Lucy wondered.

"Hold on, this isn't going to hurt her, is it?" Natsu asked, his tone becoming dark.

Rufus gave a small smile. "Of course not. I promise there will be no physical pain involved. However, while experiencing the…fake memories, of sorts, that I will be putting Lucy through, she will believe they're real. So of course, I cannot promise there won't be traumatic effects afterwords."

Natsu gave Lucy a serious look, gently grabbing her arm.

"Luce, you don't have to do this."

Lucy turned to face Rufus.

"This is the _only_ way of saving Yukino's life, right?" Lucy asked.

Minerva came to stand next to Rufus, nodding her head. "It is, unfortunately. But know that should you agree to do it, Yukino, and Sting I'm sure, will be eternally great full."

Lucy gave a determined nod, yanking her arm out of Natsu's grasp.

"Then I'll do it."

By the time Lucy was comfortable in her chair, everyone in the guild hall had gathered to watch.

"Hey Gray, keep an eye on Natsu for me please? Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Lucy asked.

"Oi!" Natsu yelled.

But Gray just scoffed, and went to stand next to the dragon slayer, Wendy following close behind.

"Will do Lucy." He replied, understanding Lucy's unspoken message: _If something happens to me, make sure Natsu doesn't lose it._

"I will begin with a quick scan of your memories Lucy, in order to understand what things you truly care for."

"Do whatever it takes." Lucy's voice was stern and sure.

Rufus stood behind Lucy's chair, touching an index finger to each side of her temple. He shut his eyes, and whispered a few words, and Lucy's body went limp. Though her eyes stayed open, they were glazed over, clearly not registering anything in front of her.

Gray heard Natsu let out a quiet growl as the fire mage tugged at his scarf nervously.

After a minute, Rufus opened his eyes, and took a deep breath.

"Okay, now I'll start creating memories. Minerva, you ready?"

Minerva nodded. She sat next to Lucy with a small vial in her hand, ready to catch falling tears.

"You're _sure_ this isn't going to hurt her?" Natsu growled.

Rufus gave a more genuine smile this time, clearly picking up on Natsu's feeling for the blonde in front of him.

"I swear to you, Lucy will feel no physical pain."

Natsu chewed on his lip, his response hesitant.

"Okay, go ahead."

Rufus shut his eyes again, repositioning his fingers.

"Memory make, loss of a loved one."

 _Lucy looked around. Everyone was fighting. Who were they fighting? Why were they fighting? How had they gotten here? It didn't really seem to matter. Lucy's eyes scanned the battle grounds, searching for that familiar pink hair. Her skin began to tingle anxiously when she realized she couldn't find him. Where was he? It wasn't like him to be out of her eyesight, especially not while they were fighting. Suddenly, from behind her, Lucy heard what sounded like one of Bisca's guns going off. She turned, gasping as she saw a blast of magic heading straight for her. She got ready to duck or jump, but before she even moved, he was there. Natsu was standing in front of her, arms out, protecting her without a second of hesitation, like he always had. And Lucy could do nothing but watch in horror as the blast of magic hit him right in the chest._

"Who do you think she's losing?" Wendy whispered to Gray, hugging Carla tight for comfort.

"There's no way to know for sure, but I bet you I can give a pretty decent guess." Gray grumbled. Wendy followed his gaze to Natsu, who stood with his arms stiffly crossed, and his eyebrows furrowed in concern as he stared at Lucy.

"Yeah, that's what I think too." Her voice was full of sadness, as she went back to observing Lucy.

Their suspicions were confirmed just seconds later when Lucy let out a pain-filled scream.

"NATSU!"

 _"_ _Natsu! NO! No, no no no no!" Lucy ran to his crumpled form. Blood spilled from the gash in his chest. His breathing was shallow, and he could barley keep his eyes open. Lucy dropped to her knees beside him, cradling his head in her arms._

 _"_ _Why would you jump in front of that? Why didn't you try to block it?" Tears flooded her eyes, as Natsu smiled up at her._

 _"_ _Lucy…" He rasped, only to be cut off as he broke into a coughing fit, blood spilling from his lips. He groaned, as his eyes began to flutter shut._

 _"_ _No, Natsu hang on! Please! You can't leave me! I need you!" Lucy's voice became more and more panicked. Tears ran down her face like waterfalls, clouding her vision._

 _"_ _WENDY!" She screeched desperately. "Wendy! Where are you? Natsu needs help!"_

A few feet away from Lucy, the guild mates watched, as she screamed. She thrashed around, Minerva trying hard to restrain her while also capturing the tears that streamed down her face.

Natsu grit his teeth as Lucy's frantic screams became filled with more and more anguish, until finally he couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop it! You're hurting her!" He yelled. He tried to get to her, only to have Gray's arms grab him, holding him in a death grip.

Natsu thrashed, as Lucy kept screaming his name.

"Natsu! Someone help! NATSU!"

"Lucy!" He cried back, hoping she would hear him. They had enough tears, dammit, he couldn't watch her go through this any longer.

"LET HER GO! YOU'RE HURTING HER!" He roared.

Sensing the dragon slayer was about to explode, Rufus moved quickly.

"Minerva! Do we have enough?" He yelled, nodding to the vial of tears.

"Almost…almost…" Minerva muttered, as Lucy kept crying. "There! Pull her out _now_ Rufus."

Rufus looked up at the other guild members.

"When I let her go, she'll be disoriented and frantic!" He shouted over the chaos. "She will believe everything she just witnessed has truly come to pass, and I have no idea how she will react to it, so keep your guards up!"

Rufus removed his fingers from Lucy temple, and Lucy went limp.

An eerie silence covered the guild.

Gray released his hold on Natsu, and the dragon slayer took a careful step forwards.

"Lucy?" He asked quietly.

Lucy's eyes shot open. She threw herself from the chair, landing hard on her hands and knees. She gasped for air, her shoulders heaving as leftover tears fell from her eyes, splattering on the floor.

Then, she _growled_. She jumped onto her feet, hand flying to her whip, as if getting ready to fight something. As if she was preparing for _revenge_.

But she froze as her eyes landed on Natsu.

"Lucy." He breathed, thankful that she was okay. He gave her a warm smile.

"Natsu?" She stuttered in shock. Then, it all came rushing back to her. Rufus and Minerva's arrival, their need for her tears, her sitting down. She breathed a sigh of relief, letting her whip fall to the ground as she realized it had all been _fake._

Natsu was okay, he was standing right in front of her. Still needing conformation, Lucy slowly stepped towards him. Reaching out, she gently traced his jawline with her index finger. She let out a sob, more tears flooding her eyes, this time happy ones, as she accepted that he was real, and perfectly fine.

She pulled him into a rib-crushing hug, burying her face in his scarf.

"Oh God, I was so scared Natsu, I thought I lost you." She muttered loud enough for only him to hear.

Natsu wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tighter to his chest. He buried his nose in her hair, breathing in the smell of her shampoo. He couldn't help but smile, happy to have the blonde safe and in his arms.

"Nah, don't worry Luce. I promise you, I'm not going anywhere."


	4. Day 4: Distance

**Day 4: _Distance_**

* * *

"Come on Natsu, being away from Lucy for _one day_ is not going to kill you." Lisanna said from her seat next to Natsu at the bar. She watched the dragon slayer pout as Lucy waved goodbye to Wendy and Erza. Lucy was going out on a small solo job, and she held the flyer in her hand as she walked out of the guild hall.

"Cheer up Natsu!" Mira smiled as she wiped down the bar. "Lucy will be back in no time, I'm sure. Besides, you can always hang out with Happy!"

Natsu glanced over to where the blue exceed was seated, chatting happily with Lily and Carla.

"Something tell's me he's busy." Natsu muttered grumpily.

"Oh quit complaining, I'll hang out with you if you're really _that_ bored without Lucy around." Lisanna offered.

"It's not just that I'm bored," Natsu explained, "I also don't understand why she would choose _now_ to take a solo job. With all those Zeref worshippers attacking random villages? How does she know the village she's going to isn't next?!"

"Awww, Natsu's worried for his partner!" Mira cooed.

"Am not…" He grumbled, resting his chin on the bar.

"Don't stress yourself out Natsu, Lucy's strong, whatever happens, she can handle it." Lisanna reassured.

"I know she's strong! I told you I'm not worried…I just…I'm just going to be mad if she gets to have some big awesome fight against Zeref without me." Natsu gave a confident nod, as if trying to convince himself that was truly what his concerns were.

"Right…" Mira said, not believe his lie.

"He likeeesss her." Lisanna teased, doing Happy's job for him, since the cat wasn't nearby.

"I do not! I just don't want her getting hurt!" Natsu cried, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"Ha! So you admit, you _are_ worried!" Mira pounced on his slip up.

"What?" Natsu gave a puzzled look, until he realized what he had said. "Ugh! You guys are impossible!" Natsu threw himself from his stool, stomping off to find Gray. A good fight was the best way to deal with his mess of emotions right now.

Lisanna couldn't help but giggle as he stormed off.

"You saw him blush too, right?" Mira asked, biting her lip to keep from laughing.

"Oh yeah, he was totally blushing." Lisanna confirmed.

"He is so hopeless." Mira sighed. And finally, the two sisters couldn't keep it in any longer, and they burst out laughing. When their laughter died down, Mira took on a more concerned tone.

"I won't lie, I'm slightly worried for Lucy too."

Lisanna scoffed. "I'm not, have you seen her fight? Like, _really_ fight. She's a total badass. Besides, we both know the _second_ she's in danger, Natsu will be at her side, no matter what town she's in."

Mira smiled at the cup she was cleaning. "Yeah, it kind of concerns me how protective he can be of her sometimes."

"He's protective of what he loves, whats wrong with that?" Lisanna shrugged.

"I'm just worried that one day, it's going to do more harm then good."

* * *

Natsu couldn't sleep that night. He laid in bed, tossing and turning, worrying for his partner. It wasn't that he thought Lucy was weak, he would simply feel so guilty if he wasn't there when she needed help. Plus, it wasn't just random attacks from any stupid dark mage, it was _Zeref Worshippers._ They we're strong, their attacks were strategized and practically fool-proof, and their dark magic was strong enough to wipe out entire towns in under an hour. If Lucy we're caught in one of those attacks alone, it didn't matter how strong she was. She could be a Wizard Saint and still get caught off guard and-

Natsu stopped himself before his thoughts got too dark. He stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours, hoping that Lucy would return quickly and safely, so he could relax, and eventually, Natsu managed to fall asleep.

When he woke up, all of his fears had come true.

He entered the guild hall with a smile on his face, happy that Lucy would be back soon, and he could stop worrying for her safe return. But his heart stopped when he saw what was going on inside Fairy Tail. Mira had set up a Lacrima-Vision set, and Gray and Levy stood in front of it, watching the news with horror in their eyes.

On the screen was a slideshow of images. Images of a town, torn to shreds. Entire buildings knocked down, smoke and ashes filling the air. While the images were shown, a reporter spoke in the background.

"It was thanks to the mages of the town that most of the Citizens made a quick and safe escape, however, many mages lost their lives in this mornings battle, and a few body's have yet to be found. Search parties have been sent out to look for survivors, but the people who witnessed the attack from neighbouring towns say they doubt anyone in the heart of the battle would have survived…."

Natsu forced his eyes to read the headline at the top of the screen.

 **Zeref Worshippers lead attack on Hargeon, devastating destruction.**

Natsu's heart dropped into his stomach.

"Mira." He growled, running up to the bar. "Where was Lucy's solo job?" He demanded.

He had to know if she was okay. What if she was one of the bodys they hadn't found? What if she was still buried in rubble, alone, needed someone to find her? Natsu's gut wrenched at the thought of losing her.

Mira simply looked away, not able to look Natsu in the eye's as she wiped away a couple tears.

"Natsu…" She hesitated.

"Where was her job, Mira?!" Natsu shouted impatiently.

Mira took a deep breath.

"Hargeon, Natsu. Lucy went to Hargeon."

Natsu's world crumbled.

"Dammit!" He screamed, pounding hist fists on the bar, tears welled up in his eyes. "I _told_ her not to go! I knew I should have gone with her, I _knew_ it. But I still let her go alone!" He cried, burying his head in his hands, "This is all my fault!"

"Natsu, calm down," Mira said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder, "We can't be sure-"

"Don't touch me!" Natsu roared, shaking Mira's hand of as his body became engulfed in flames.

"Happy!" He yelled to the cat, who quickly flew up to him. "Can you fly to Hargeon? Do you have enough magic?"

Happy glanced at the Lacrima-Vision screen nervously, before giving a determined nod.

"We're going, _now_." Natsu ordered. Quickly, Happy grabbed Natsu and made for the exit of the guild hall.

"Natsu! Don't do anything stupid!" Gray called after him.

"Screw off, ice-freak." Natsu growled, not in the mood for poking fun.

The got out into the open air, and Happy took off at max speed.

"Hold on Lucy, I'm coming."

An hour later, Natsu landed in a crouch in the broken remains of Hargeon, and tried to ignore the wave of memories that washed over him. This was supposed to be a happy place, a small peaceful town where Natsu's life had changed for the better.

Hargeon was where Natsu met Lucy, but he feared it would also be where he lost her.

Immediately, he began searching for her. It took almost an hour, but eventually, he found her.

And it was everything he never wanted to see.

Lucy laid, sprawled out on the ground, her face and body covered in ash and soot. She had a deep gash in her stomach, and blood coated her torso. Her legs were pinned under a huge piece of rubble, Natsu took one look at it a knew even he couldn't lift it without help.

He crouched down beside the unconscious blonde, tears filling his eyes once more. She was breathing, but it was shallow, far too shallow.

"Lucy, no. Please be okay, you _have_ to be okay." He gently lifted her head into his hands, his tears splashing onto her face, leaving small tracks as they washed away the soot. "I'm so sorry Luce, this is all my fault. I should have known this would happen, I should have never left you alone. I shouldn't have let you take a job so far away. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

He pressed his forehead to hers, praying that she would open her eyes. Begging her to talk to him so he could hear her voice again.

"Please Lucy, come back! You can't leave!" Natsu sobbed, "What about all the adventures we haven't gone on? Come on Luce, I'll let you pick every job we go on for the next _year_ if you just _open your eyes!_ "

And it worked, Lucy eyelids fluttered open, though her eye's had a faraway look in them, as if she wasn't really _there_.

"Natsu…" She whispered weakly.

"Lucy! It's okay, you're going to be okay. I'm going to get you out of-"

"Natsu, you can't. Not this time." She gave him a weak smile, though it was filled with sadness. Lucy let out a soft, pain-filled laugh. "I knew you would come. Or at least, I hoped. I really didn't want to die alone." She paused, "I went down fighting, I want you to know that. Hell, I even took down a follower all by myself. I saved a lot of people, Natsu."

"That's great, Luce, I knew you would, you always have." He tried to smile at her, but he couldn't do it, as another wave of harsh sobs wracked his body.

Lucy brought a weak arm up to cup his cheek.

"Forgive yourself, Natsu. None of this was your fault." Lucy whispered.

Then her hand fell to the ground, and her eyes fluttered shut.

"Lucy? LUCY!" Natsu screamed. But Lucy was gone, and as Natsu threw himself over her body in despair, he remembered Lisanna's words from the day before.

She had been right, of course. Being away from Lucy for one day hadn't killed him, but being away from Natsu for one day had killed Lucy.

And Natsu wasn't sure he remembered how to live without her.


	5. Day 5: Insanity

**Day 5: _Insanity_**

* * *

Lucy didn't care anymore. How many times? How many times had she watched Natsu throw himself at their attacker, having no idea how strong they were? How many times, had he eaten their opponents magic, only to have it almost kill him. How many times had a blast knocked him to the ground, leaving Lucy to wonder if maybe this time he wasn't going to get up again? How many times had he done it all protecting Lucy?

She couldn't take it anymore.

This time, she was going to be the hero. This time, _she_ would protect _Natsu_.

So before Natsu could even throw his next attack at the enemy in front of them, Lucy was throwing herself forwards.

She put all her anger towards Natsu into her attacks. Without even thinking about it, she opened two gates. Loke, and Sagittarius.

"Give him everything you got, guys!"

Lucy pulled out her whip, activating the Fleuve D'etoile, and completely lashed out, letting out a rage-filled battle cry as she flailed her whip with all of her strength. The dark guild member in front of her was launching frantic attacks in a panic.

Lucy didn't even bother dodging them. She let them hit her, pure adrenaline driving her forwards. Adrenaline and anger. Anger that Natsu put himself through this every time in order to keep her safe. She would make him understand how it felt to sit back and feel useless while you watched your friend wear themselves out right in front of you.

Lucy would finish this guy off all by herself.

"Lucy! What are you doing?" Natsu called, panic and confusion in his voice.

"Stay out of it Natsu! I'm handling it myself!" Lucy ordered, her voice icy.

The dark guild member caught her off guard with a particularity strong attack. It hit her right in the gut, and she couldn't help but drop to the floor.

Pain raced through her body, and she felt blood leaking from the wound.

She ignored it all, forcing herself to stand, like Natsu would, and attacked with her whip yet again.

"Lucy! Stop it!" Natsu screamed. But Lucy knew he didn't dare interfere, not with her standing so close to their enemy. Because if he did attack, he risked hitting her.

Lucy caught the mage by the ankle with her whip, pulling his leg out from under him. Meanwhile, Sagittarius and Leo continued to barrage him with attacks.

He was almost knocked out now, Lucy could tell, she just needed one final blow.

She grabbed a third key, ignoring the panicked cry's from Loke and Sagittarius, who were trying to warn her that she didn't have enough magic left.

"Open, gate of the twins! Gemini!" Lucy's vision blurred as soon as their gate opened, and she was sure she was in the negatives when it came to magic power. But she didn't care. Natsu did this all the time, so she could too.

"LUCY! YOU'RE GONNA GET YOURSELF KILLED!" Natsu warned frantically.

She continued to ignore him as she positioned herself with Gemini, despite their warnings to stop.

Natsu's eyes widened as he recognized the pose. His stomach twisted, knowing there was no way Lucy had enough magic left for that.

"LUCY STOP!"

"URANO METRIA!"

The room exploded with light, and all that could be heard was the enemies screams, until the light faded, and he passed out.

Lucy gave a proud smile. See? She could handle way more than people gave her credit for.

The last thing she heard was Natsu running towards her, as all three gates shut, and Lucy hit the floor.

* * *

When she woke up, she was in the Fairy Tail infirmary, Natsu sleeping in the bed beside her.

She quickly looked him up and down, relaxing when she realized he wasn't hurt, he just wanted to stay nearby.

Lucy shifted in bed to check the heavy bandaged that wrapped around her stomach. Natsu's eyes shot open as he leapt from his bed.

"Lucy! You're awake!"

"Hey Natsu." She smiled at his over enthusiasm.

Suddenly, he became serious.

"What the hell were you thinking, Luce? I've never seen you fight like that, I thought you'd lost your mind."

Lucy scoffed. "Yeah, well I had a point to prove."

Natsu narrowed his eyes. "What were ya trying to prove?"

"That I could handle an enemy all by myself, that I could be the hero, that I am just as strong as you." She snapped, unable to keep the venom out of her voice. Of course, none of that was true. Everything she had done had been solely for the selfish reason of wanting Natsu to know how she felt watching him repeatedly throw himself into unknown danger.

Natsu looked shocked.

"I never thought you we're weak, Lucy. You didn't have to prove any of that to me, I already believed it."

"Whatever."

Natsu laughed. "Also, next time, can you prove it in some way that doesn't scare me so bad?" his voice softened "For a second, I thought I'd lost you."

Lucy felt no sympathy for him, did he know how many times he'd made her feel the same pain?

"Well, if you truly believed that I was strong, you wouldn't have worried so much."

Natsu was taken aback. Why was Lucy so angry? What had he done wrong? He decided to leave her be, maybe the potion Wendy gave her was making her emotional.

"Yeah, okay, I'm sorry for worrying so much. I should have had more faith in you. Just next time, don't be so reckless, okay?" He asked softly, a smile on his face.

But apparently, that was the wrong thing to say, because Lucy lost it.

" _You're_ telling _me_ , to be less reckless?!" She sneered. " _You_ have no right to say that, Natsu Dragneel! This whole thing was me trying to show you exactly how I feel when you go off and do the _exact_ same thing that I just did!"

"What? Okay, look, I know im reckless, but I don't push myself that far." Natsu argued.

"BULLSHIT!" Lucy cried. Frustration causing her to raise her voice.

"Luce, seriously, calm down."

"Ugh! Would you stop with that _stupid_ nickname! I'm _trying_ to get my point through that thick skull of yours that you're recklessness is unnecessary!"

"You're not the one that just sat next to an infirmary bed for _six days_ , Lucy, waiting for you to wake up!" Natsu cried, starting to get upset.

"Not this time! But _every other time_ , it's been _me_ in that spot! Do you even understand Natsu?! Do you know how many times have I been _EXACTLY_ where you are right now? Sitting next to a hospital bed, worrying that you're _NEVER GOING TO GET UP AGAIN!_ Because you never stop to think about your own health! You just throw punches first and think later! Then I end up, scared and alone for _days_ , only for you to wake up and _act like NOTHING happened!_ You wake up, and act LIKE YOU DIDN'T JUST ALMOST DIE IN FRONT OF ME FOR THE GOD-KNOWS HOW MANY TIME! You are my _best_ _friend_! Do you know how many times I have _cried_ because of you?! Because you need to be the damn HERO!"

Natsu was growing angry now, why was Lucy so mad at him?!

"I didn't know it bothered you!" He defended.

"Of course you didn't know! _You never asked,_ did you?! You're selfish, Natsu. You always jumped in to be the hero without ever wondering HOW I FELT! Never stopping to think about how much it hurts to watch the person you care most about be so close to _death_ EVERY. SINGLE. BATTLE."

Natsu snapped, raising his voice to match Lucy's shouting.

"I'M NOT TRYING TO BE THE HERO LUCY I'M TRYING TO PROTECT YOU!"

"I DON'T NEED PROTECTION!" Lucy shot back, "I JUST NEED YOU, ALIVE, AND OKAY, FOR ONCE! I don't need _protection_ , I need _one_ battle, that doesn't end with me, carrying your limp body back to Fairy Tail in a panic, because I think this time you aren't going to make it!

"IT'S DIFFERENT WHEN IT'S ME GETTING HURT LUCY!"

"HOW?! HOW IS IT DIFFERENT?"

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" Natsu blurted.

Lucy choked on her words. Her angry tone erased and replaced by shock. "What?" She stuttered.

"Because I love you." Natsu continued softly. "And if something happens to you, when I'm there…when I'm there to protect you and you _still_ get hurt, it tears me apart Lucy. I feel so guilty, so…useless!" He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

Lucy's anger came back, but it wasn't nearly as intense as the first time.

"Thats how I feel every _single_ time you almost die for me! How you are feeling _right now_ , is how I feel at the end of every other battle!" She fought to stop herself from raising her voice again.

"I don't want to hurt you." Natsu whispered.

"That's _exactly_ what you're doing, Natsu! How much you're hurting right now, I feel that pain _every time_ you take a hit for me!"

Lucy's words hit him like a brick wall. Natsu froze. He was _hurting_ her? He had never wanted to hurt her. He had just wanted to keep her safe. Looking back, he knew he had been reckless, but maybe it had been overdone. Maybe he had been trying too hard to be heroic. He forced himself to _think_ for once. As he thought about everything Lucy had said, he realized that maybe she was right after all.

"I'm sorry Lucy, God I'm such an idiot." Natsu admitted, stepping towards her, he pulled her into a gentle hug, and she gratefully cuddled into him. "I just wanted to keep you safe, I should have asked how you felt, I should have thought about my actions more."

"It's okay, I shouldn't have blown up at you like that." Lucy muttered into his scarf.

"It's fine, I never would have gotten the message otherwise." Natsu laughed.

"Yeah, you are pretty dense."

"Oi!"

"Im kidding, kind of." Lucy giggled, then fell silent again. "I'm really sorry Natsu, I hate when we fight."

"Me too," Natsu agreed, "You're terrifying when you're mad"

"Shut up." She said, playfully hitting his chest.

For a minute, they stood there in comfortable silence, enjoying being in each others arms, both relieved that they weren't fighting anymore. Then, Lucy spoke again.

"Oh, and Natsu?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you too."

"What?" He sputtered, having already forgotten his previous confession.

"I love you too, you suicidal idiot." Lucy laughed.

"Oh, well, thanks."

There was another minute of silence, this time, Natsu's voice breaking it.

"Do you really hate it when I call you Luce?"

"What?" Lucy asked, then cringed as she remembered her earlier words. "Oh! No! No, I'm sorry, I was just mad. I love it when you call me Luce, it makes me feel...special." She smiled up at Natsu.

"Okay, good, cuse I came up with that myself and I was pretty proud of it."

Lucy burst out laughing. "You're an idiot."

"You should get back in bed now." Natsu said softly, ignoring her insult.

"Yeah, probably, I kind of feel like im gonna pass out."

As soon as he heard that, he scooped her up. Lucy let out a surprised squeak as Natsu swung her up into his arms. He carried her back to bed, gently laying her down. Once she was settled, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I'll be more careful next time, I promise." Natsu whispered.

"Thank you." Lucy smiled warmly.

Natsu smiled back.

"Anything for you, Luce."


End file.
